From 27 to 31 July 2025, the Italian Embassy in Manama hosted a preview of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, which will officially take place in November. The initiative featured a five-day course on pasta-making entitled Pasta from Scratch.
Young Italian chef Francesca Bottacci taught 30 young Bahrainis the secrets, authenticity, and history of five traditional Italian pasta dishes and sauces, highlighting the health benefits, cultural significance, and innovation that characterise Italian cuisine – key themes of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World.
Organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs as part of the Youth City 2030 Festival, the course generated great enthusiasm for both the traditional aspects of Italian culinary culture and the emphasis on sustainability. Participants were particularly captivated by the incredible flavours of the dishes they were able to create themselves under Chef Bottacci’s expert guidance.
“Italian cuisine represents a healthy, balanced and sustainable dietary model“, said Ambassador Catalano. “It is enriched by innovation and research processes that shape the entire food chain. The approval of Italy’s candidacy for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status would be yet another piece in the extraordinary mosaic of Italian taste, tradition, and regional specialities. It is an immense heritage of knowledge, which we were delighted to share with the young people of Bahrain”.
